Alaska Sourdough

Description

“Sourdough is a magical food!” author Ruth Allman was fond of saying. As curator of the House of Wickersham in Juneau, Ruth often served tourists her “flaming sourdough waffles.” As she said, “Descendants of the Mayflower have nothing on the proud lineage of many a sourdough starter.” There are folks in Alaska who claim the staff of life in their sourdough pots is more than 40 years old or date it to the time when Fairbanks was a mining town.

Alaska Sourdough, handwritten to match the old-timer recipes, includes directions for several starters that can ripen in varying times, three days to one year. And once the pot is bubbling, there’s no end to the fun and flavor. In this witty and useful last word on sourdough cookery, there are more than 95 recipes (hotcakes to doughnuts and many delicious accompaniments), loads of time-tested advice for the novice, and plenty of lore for sourdough fans.

“The author . . . is Alaska’s sourdough expert . . .We like Ruth’s definition of a sourdough waffle: ‘A waffle is an enlarged hotcake with a nonskid tread.’ Come and get it!”